Enterprise Systems and Technology Proceedings of the 2 Nd International Workshop on Enterprise Systems and Technology I-west 2008

The market service share in Western European economies is growing at cost of agriculture and manufacturing. The success of these economies is more and more depending on the success of their service economy. The majority of the jobs, GDP and productivity growth depends on service innovation. The service sector accounts for more than two thirds of deployment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA). During the last decades, the services sector is the only economic sector that has generated jobs. New, innovative services are the major source of economic growth in the years to come. The introduction of new services to the market is one of the major challenges for service companies in western economies. Information and communication technology can be an enabler and a driver for service innovation. The penetration of the Internet and mobile phones are examples of these developments. These developments also illustrate the globalization of previously national service markets. Consequently, the scale at which services can be deployed is unprecedented. However, service innovation is a complex process and certainly not only driven by technological advances alone. In general, service innovation is multidimensional and requires besides technological changes also new or adapted service concepts, new ways of interactions with customers and suppliers and new or changed processes within the organization of service providing companies. Research shows that innovation in the service company differs from innovations in a manufacturing company in various ways. Companies are heading for a more systematic approach to develop new services, but have difficulties to find employees with the right mix of competences. Policy makers are developing innovation programs that stimulate service innovation, but have limited knowledge on service innovations. The academic institutes and research organizations have difficulties to conduct research programs due to their mono-disciplinary organization structure. In this keynote lecture, we present the results of a collaborative project where service companies, research organizations and governmental organizations have developed a multi-disciplinary, multi-sector program to stimulate service innovations. We give an overview of the various dimensions that can be used to elaborate on services and service innovation. We also present a service innovation research agenda based on the results of interviews expressing the needs of more than thirty service companies in The Netherlands.